KEY POINTS:
A couple have given up hope of finding out what caused their son's death in police custody in Dubai.
Paul and Sabina Mahoney, of Christchurch, have struggled against a wall of silence from authorities in the popular Middle Eastern destination since their son Aaron was killed in a police car crash in January last year.
They are now resigned to the fact they will never know the full story.
"We are just trying to come to terms with losing Aaron. It's the worst thing that can happen to a parent," Paul Mahoney told the Weekend Herald.
Aaron Mahoney, 24 - described as a talented and ambitious sportsman with a rebellious streak - travelled to Dubai to join an international golfing academy, and was reportedly arrested by Dubai police after becoming drunk and unruly.
The police car he was being transported in crashed and he died. Reports from Dubai suggested one of the two police officers in the car also died as a result of his injuries.
Another report suggested Mr Mahoney had tried to strangle a policeman in the car before the crash.
Paul Mahoney does not accept that his son would have attacked a policeman. "We are coming to terms with the fact we just don't know anything, and we have just got to accept that. We have made no progress and we are trying to get on with life. You can get bitter and twisted and fight like hell, but it won't bring Aaron back."
Aaron Mahoney's uncles travelled to Dubai to try to get answers but came away with little.
Paul Mahoney said he and Sabina considered going to Dubai this year, but decided against it, partly because he felt she did not want to "drag things up. In any other country, there might be a chance. But I don't think we will get anything out of Dubai. If something goes wrong, they just shut the doors down."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has consistently said it has been looking into the matter.
Asked about what it had uncovered in the past 18 months, it said: "The ministry has formally requested the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dubai to obtain the traffic prosecution report, and any other information relating to the death of Mr Mahoney. We continue to follow up with them."
Weekend Herald efforts to get answers from the Dubai police also proved fruitless. "It's just a bloody hopeless situation," Mr Mahoney said. "You go off to play a bit of golf and you don't come home."
